The women’s League Cup has a complicated format and with the group stage continuing this week, we take a look at how the competition works.
Women’s League Cup format
The Women’s League Cup is a very individual competition in the sense that teams split off by region to begin with.
During the initial group stage, 21 teams are separated into five different groups.
Groups aren’t split evenly during the early stage of the League Cup with three groups made of four teams and one with five.
Every team will play each other once during the group stage except the lone group of five, who will face off against all but one of the rest of their group.
The group stage continues this weekend during the international break.
The #SubwayWLC action taking place this weekend 🙌 pic.twitter.com/BO9SJFYbVF
— Barclays Women’s Super League (@BarclaysWSL) October 15, 2025
Only the club that finishes top of each group will advance to the knockout phase which begins with the quarter finals in December.
How do the points work?
The points system in the women’s League Cup isn’t as straightforward as in other competitions.
Teams who win in 90 minutes will get the maximum three points as usual, but it is the draws that are slightly complicated.
If the game ends in a draw at full-time both teams will get one point but there is an opportunity for one of the sides to gain an additional one after the game finishes.
All matches that result in a draw will head to a penalty shootout with the winner taking home two points.
Women’s League Cup points system
- Win = 3 points
- Draw = 1 point each + penalty shootout for an extra bonus point awarded to the shootout winner
- Loss = 0 points
Who is already in the League Cup?
There are 24 teams that compete in the women’s League Cup with all clubs from the top two divisions in England taking part.
Only 21 teams compete in the group stage, with the sides qualified for the Champions League receiving an early bye.
This year’s Champions League teams skipping the group stage are Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United.
United only just made it to the Champions League through qualifiers at the start of the season. If the Red Devils had been eliminated from Europe before the league phase, they would’ve been put in the League Cup group stage.
There is of course an advantage for these three teams. United, Arsenal and Chelsea can all win the League Cup by just winning three matches in the competition.
Chelsea are the current holders of the cup after beating Durham, West Ham and Manchester City last year.
Subway League Cup groups
Group A
- Manchester City
- Nottingham Forest
- Newcastle United
- Everton
Group B
- Liverpool
- Sheffield United
- Durham
- Sunderland
Group C
- West Ham
- Brighton
- Southampton
- Portsmouth
- Charlton
Group D
- Leicester
- London City Lionesses
- Crystal Palace
- Ipswich
Group E
- Birmingham City
- Tottenham
- Bristol
- Aston Villa
Women’s League Cup key dates
Group stage:
- 24/25 September 2025
- 8/9 October 2025 (Group C only)
- 18/19 October 2025
- 2/13 November 2025 (Group C only)
- 22/23 November 2025
Quarter-finals:
- 20–21 December 2025
Semi-finals:
- 21–22 January 2026
Final:
- 15 March 2026
